Ortega Shuts Down another 100 Nicaraguan Non-Profits

The Ortega regime closed another hundred non-governmental organizations, arguing that the annulled associations, organizations and foundations did not comply with Nicaraguan laws. Now, as of September 19, 2022, the number of NGOs canceled in Nicaragua by Ortega rises to 1,907.

Since early September, the Ministry of the Interior (Mingob) has been in charge of canceling the Non-Profit Organizations. The previous annulments were made by means of a decree initiative, which the legislature, dominated by Ortega’s Sandinista Front, approved without any discussion.

From December 2018 to September 2022, the regime has stripped 1,981 organizations of their legal status, under the same discourse with some nuances.

The Ortega regime accuses the NGOs of not filing required reports and for lending their structures to support the failed coup d’état, as the Government calls the Civic Rebellion of April 2018, which was crushed by police repression and paramilitary groups.

The organizations affected by the regime’s hunt were dedicated to health projects, economic, social, and local development, women’s empowerment, child protection, education, culture, the environment, and others. With its closure, the most affected are its beneficiaries, who already number in many thousands.

This article was originally published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times